1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an automatic coffee pot and more particularly, an automatic coffee pot which can be used interchangeably to make espresso, "American" coffee, or cappuccino within the same unit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, it was difficult to provide a single coffee pot which could be used to brew, different, although related beverages, such as espresso coffee, "American" coffee and cappuccino. In order to obtain different coffee beverages, more or less water would be required in combination with a given quantity of ground coffee beans or more or less beans would have to be used with a given amount of water disposed within the pot. If, for example, the coffee pot was designed to hold quantity of coffee beans to make three cups of espresso coffee, an attempt to make weaker or "American" coffee in the same pot would fail since a smaller volume of ground beans would have to be utilized in order to achieve the weaker brew, as the capacity to add more water would not be available, but the coffee brewing apparatus would invariably lack means to accomodate the smaller mass of ground beans seated within the pot. Steam or heated water filtered through the decreased volume of ground coffee disposed within a less than full filter basket would tend to push the coffee towards the outer diameter or one side of the filter basket housing the beans resulting in extremely weak coffee as most of the beans would not e subjected to the perking steam or hot water transmitted through the filter basket. Some means are thus necessary to apply pressure and maintain the ground coffee beans in a substantially equal distribution about the well of the filter basket in order that the steam generated and hot water sent through the ground coffee beans will contact substantially all of the beans to obtain proper flavoring and richness. This would be true even if less than full capacity of the filter basket is utilized to brew espresso coffee.
Furthermore, in order to brew cappuccino, it is necessary to add cream or milk to the liquid coffee extract and simultaneously heat the coffee extract and cream to cause a hot admixture. Prior art attempts to accomplish this objective have included a separate nozzle and chamber for heating the cream wherein steam generated in the chamber exits through the nozzle into contact with the cream as the coffee is perked or brewed in the pot, to heat the cream causing it to froth and remain in heated contact with the coffee as it is perked in the pot. This apparatus is expensive as it requires additional parts which are difficult to operate.
Accordingly, the present invention fills a need in providing a single unit which can be used to brew coffee of less capacity than the unit is designed to brew, either espresso or "American" coffee, and which can be used to prepare cappuccino.